The invention relates in general to developing the functions of a mobile communications device. In particular the invention relates to using a mobile communications device for purposes other than data communications proper.
Diversification of the features of mobile communications devices has brought those devices and so-called PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) devices closer to each other to such an extent that it can be predicted that in the future the majority of ordinary consumers have at their disposal a small electronic device which can be carried around at all times and which integrates many functions which up until now have required separate devices of their own. A mobile communications device may at the same time be a telephone, paging device, alarm clock, positioning device, calendar and a portable data terminal. The better a device meets the various needs of consumers, the more readily they adopt it.
An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communications device which has many uses. Another object of the invention is to provide a mobile communications device the components of which can be utilized in order to realize more than one function. A further object of the invention is to provide a new function for a mobile communications device which does not require considerable changes in current mobile communications devices.
The objects of the invention are achieved by integrating in a mobile communications device a motion detector and by producing various functions and/or indications depending on what kind of kinetic states said motion detector detects.
The mobile communications device according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises a motion detector to produce a signal representing the kinetic state of the mobile communications device.
The invention is also directed to an auxiliary of a mobile communications device which is characterized in that it comprises a motion detector to produce a signal representing its kinetic state.
According to the invention, it is possible to make use especially of the fact that in the future a mobile communications device is carried around by the user almost all the time. If the mobile communications device includes a motion detector, many kinds of deductions can be made concerning the user and what he/she is or is not doing.
One application of a motion detector integrated in a mobile communications device is a personal safety phone intended for a situation wherein a distinct change in the kinetic state of the person in question may indicate an emergency. For example, an old person""s safety phone equipped with a motion detector may alarm if the user is motionless for a certain period of time whereby it may be assumed e.g. that he/she has fallen and has been hurt. Similarly, a safety phone equipped with a motion detector used by a person working in an environment containing dangerous substances or other environment-induced hazards may be set so as to alarm if the person in question stops moving, which may indicate loss of consciousness. The inherent communications properties of the mobile communications device are useful because they can be used to direct an alarm, which indicates possible emergency, very quickly and reliably to almost any place.
A second advantageous application of the invention is a kinetic counter which measures how much the user of the mobile communications device has moved during a certain period of time. This application of the invention can be used as an instrument in fitness training to evaluate the effectiveness of the exercises taken. In this application, too, it is particularly beneficial that the device equipped with the motion detector is a mobile communications device because, firstly, the performance data can be transmitted (even in real time) to a monitoring and statistics equipment and, secondly, thanks to the communications properties of their mobile communications devices, people taking fitness exercises can keep in touch with each other during the training.
A third advantageous application of the invention is to control other functions and properties of a mobile communications device according to the device""s kinetic state detected by a motion detector. For example, the ringing sound indicating an incoming call may be turned louder in a mobile communications device which has been totally immobile for a long time because it is probable that the device is not being carried along by the user but has been forgotten on a table or some other stationary place.
A mobile communications device equipped with a motion detector can also be used to detect and report unwarranted movement. The mobile communications device can be set to make an alarm call or send a short message to a predetermined number as soon as it detects movement, whereby it can be used as a theft alarm for a car, bag or other movable property, or, using a suitable arrangement, to monitor for movement in a certain area.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the motion detector of a mobile communications device is built around a vibrating alarm device included in the mobile communications device or its auxiliary. A vibrating alarm device typically comprises an electric motor which has an eccentric mass on its axle. As the electric motor rotates, the eccentricity of the mass causes that the device seems to vibrate. When the electric motor is not rotating the axle, the axle and its eccentric mass move relatively freely under the influence of external forces exerted on the mass. Small movement of the axle is detected on the basis of electric current induced by the axle in the windings of the electric motor. A simple control circuit can detect whether there is induced current in the windings or not and, hence, whether the mobile communications device is moving or not. The magnitude and quality of the movement can be determined using more complex control arrangements.
In accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention, the motion detector is based on semiconductor acceleration sensors that measure the mobile communications device""s kinetic state changes in different directions. However, the embodiment based on the vibrating alarm device has the advantage that it uses as motion sensor a component which is already included in the mobile communications device and, therefore, no separate motion sensors are needed.